SOCIAL CAPACITY OF THE ARCTIC AREA: HOW OPTIMAL THE CONDITIONS FOR HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, RECREATION AND LABOR ARE IN ARCTIC MUNICIPALITIES

Volkov, A. D.

V. A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russian Federation)

The article was received on August 19, 2025

Bibliographic description: Volkov A. D. Social capacity of the Arctic area: how optimal the conditions for healthcare, education, recreation and labor are in Arctic municipalities. Arctic: Ecology and Economy, 2026, vol. 16, no. 1.

Abstract:  Depopulation of the Russian Arctic is a key macro-region development issue. It steams from a complex set of contradictions in the functioning of key sectors that determine the local conditions for the human capital reproduction: health care, education, culture and leisure, and working conditions. An approach is needed to systematically identify critical aspects of the sectors and specify favorable measures. The study aims to identify the optimal functioning of the considered sectors at the municipal level and compile a corresponding rating of the Arctic territories. Using the DEA analysis methodology and the results of complex economic and sociological research, the author has identified the relative optimality of health care, education, recreation, and working conditions in 32 municipalities of the European part of the Russian Arctic. Partial and general ratings of these territories have been compiled. The analytical potential of the applied methodology for identifying key problematic aspects in the development of these sectors, as well as developing measures to overcome them, is shown.

Keywords: Arctic zone, area capacity, Arctic regions, municipalities, health care, education, recreation, working conditions, DEA analysis

Funding:  The paper was prepared within the framework of the RSF project number 23-78-10192 “Formation of an ethnometric basis of the institutional design of the Russian Arctic: the mutual influence of culture, economic sphere and social selection in macrosystems” (https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-10192/).

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